In Xerography or an electrostatographic process, a uniform electrostatic charge is placed upon a photoreceptor surface. The charged surface is then exposed to a light image of an original to selectively dissipate the charge to form a latent electrostatic image of the original. The latent image is developed by depositing finely divided and charged particles of toner upon the photoreceptor surface. The charged toner being electrostatically attached to the latent electrostatic image areas to create a visible replica of the original. The developed image is then usually transferred from the photoreceptor surface to a final support material, such as paper, and the toner image is fixed thereto to form a permanent record corresponding to the original. While for clarity sake, the present invention will be described relative to an electrostatic marking system, it should be understood that the present invention can be used in any marking system, including offset and other printers, multifunctional devices, copiers, duplicators, fax, non-electrophotographic image forming and marking devices or other suitable office equipment generally. All of these marking systems are included within the scope of this invention.
It is usually the practice to install an electrostatic or other marking apparatus centrally in an office where it is accessible to all employees. Some of these marking machines are color systems and some are monochrome. Usage of these machines and their supplies are relatively expensive and means have been used in the past to prevent employees from using these machines for personal non-business purposes. For that matter, the cost of color printing and charges from personal use is sometimes a barrier to deployment of color printers in both smaller and larger companies. Often access and use of color printing is restricted to business use and some companies decide because of these problems not to provide color printers at all. Some of the overhead costs involved when employees freely use these marking systems for non-business use are so high that it discourages companies from installing these complex systems. Also, enforcing strict usage and providing codes, billing methods, etc. for usage can be complicated and time consuming to administer.